


“It wasn’t your fault.”

by courageous_boss



Series: Three Birds and a Baby (a Batfamily AU) [10]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick and Damian are close, Gen, Jason Todd is Alive, Jason Todd is bluebird, Jason Todd never died, Jason and Dick are good older brothers, the bat-brothers love eachother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-16 21:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16503359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courageous_boss/pseuds/courageous_boss
Summary: Damian Wayne is kidnapped.





	“It wasn’t your fault.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ages: Damian – 3  
> Dick – 14  
> Jason – 19  
> Tim – 6

“Jay-bird,” Dick sang, poking his head into the library. “It’s movie night.”

Jason didn’t raise his head, eyes glued to his book. He’d been waiting for the sequel eight whole months and he wouldn’t put it down until he learned Wyatt’s fate. “Mmm?”

“ _Jay_ ,” Dick whined, slinking into the room. Approached Jason slowly, careful not to startle him, and stood patiently at the side of the couch. “It’s time to start. Everyone’s waiting.”

Jason’s gaze flicked towards his older/younger brother. “Start without me. I’ll join soon.”

“No,” Dick touched a gentle hand to Jason’s shoulder, breaking out his puppy dog eyes, “it’s your turn to pick the movie. B is here, and Alfie got caramel popcorn just for you. Please come.”

Jason sighed. _Family movie nights_ had been something Jason had suggested shortly after Dick had moved in. He’d had no socialization skills which, when paired with his incessant nightmares, had caused him to spend almost all of his time in his room. It hadn’t been healthy, and Jason had been forced to come up with something. Family cartoons had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, when Jason was dying to finish his book and Dick was begging him out for the second movie night that week, it was beginning to lose its appeal.

Jason knew that if he kept Dick waiting any longer, the boy would spend the evening sulking. So, he relented, sticking his bookmark in. “Alright, alright,” he ruffled Dick’s hair. It was always so soft, and Dick always cuddled into him when he did.

“So, what are you going to pick?” Dick chattered, bouncing around. "Because I was thinking-"

“Hey,” Tim called, running down to meet them in the hallway with a huge pout on his tiny lips. “No fair! You can’t tell Jay what to pick.”

Tim looked adorable. He was dressed in a children’s onesie that was designed to look like a panda. There was even a hood to match what hung baggily on his head. His tiny little face was scrunched up in annoyance at Dick’s antics and Jason couldn’t stop himself from cooing.

“Don’t worry, Timmy. I don’t fall for Dick’s tricks,” Jason promised.

Dick smiled sheepishly and slinked into the TV room with Damian's loud, excited squeals breaking out at his entrance. Jason followed Tim in just in time to see Damian clawing his way out of Bruce’s hold. The toddler catapulted himself off of Bruce’s lap and glued himself to Dick’s leg. Somehow, Dick had wrangled the kid into a onesie similar to Tim’s, except his was fashioned to look like a duckling. The cloth beak hung over his forehead and he kept batting it away.

“Movie! Movie! Movie!” Damian chanted impatiently.

Dick scooped him up, cheering along with him. They were working themselves up, but that was the main point of the exercise. Soon, they’d be bouncing off the walls, high of pure energy and giggles. Then, Alfred would hit play on whatever Disney film Jason picked out and the two would snuggle up on the couch and fall asleep within fifteen minutes.

Jason figured out early on in the game and Dick and Damian were going to _DickandDamian_ whether you wanted them to be or not. Dick was always touchy-feely – a trait that had been much appreciated by Tim who’d come to them touch deprived and starving for attention – and Damian was a prickly little monster that demanded Dick’s constant attention. They were a perfect match.

As expected, when Tarzan began playing, Dick wrangled Damian onto the couch, curling up with the toddler pressed to his side. Tim joined them for cuddles, pulling Jason in with a bat of his big, blue eyes and pouted lips.

Bruce just chuckled over them, perfectly content in his huge leather armchair.

By the time the credits began playing, the trio was fast asleep. Jason took carried Tim to his semi-permanent room – which was really one of the guest rooms that the boy had tacked a page with his name scrawled messily on it to the door – and Bruce carried Dick and Damian up to Damian's room.

With the three youngest boys asleep, Bruce and Jason returned to their preferred activities, with Bruce heading down to the cave to finish some casework while Jason sought out his book. He only managed to read two more hours before he was fast asleep in the library.

 

* * *

 

Screaming. Loud, anguished screaming and crying. Hiccupped words and tears and _Dick’s crying_. Why was Dick crying?

Heart in his throat, Jason ran up to Dick’s room, taking the stairs two at a time. He found himself praying that Dick had just had a nightmare. _Please, please, please be a nightmare._

It wasn’t a nightmare.

Bruce was there already. And Alfred and Tim. Alfred had Tim on his hip, pressing his small, innocent face into his chest, hiding him from Dick’s horror. Dick was screaming and flailing around, lashing out whenever Bruce tried to grab ahold of him.

“No, no, no, no,” Dick mumbled, deep in a panic attack. His chest was heaving, and his eyes had a distant look.

“What’s happening?” The words felt louder in his head. Out loud, Jason could only manage a whisper.

Alfred’s expression was pained and Tim. Oh God, Tim was shaking.

“Dick,” Bruce's voice was cool and soothing, “I need you to calm down. Breath for me, please.”

Jason searched the room frantically. The blankets had made their way to the floor and Dick’s room looked upside down.

Dick was sobbing, hardly breathing now with loud, heavy cried leaving his chest. “I want him. Bring him back. _Please. I’m sorry_.”

Jason’s heart was thundering away. Something was wrong. What was wrong? Something was missing? He just, he just couldn't figure out what.

“I’ll bring him back, Dick. I promise,” Bruce was saying, repeating over and over again.

“I’m sorry. Please. Don’t take him away. Please, please, please,” Dick’s crying grew more frantic, screaming turning into raw, shaky sobs.

Bruce finally managed to catch him, stop him from flitting around the room and overturn everything in his path. He crushed Dick to his chest running his huge, strong hands over Dick’s back as the boy cried into his chest.

“I’m sorry, B. I fell asleep, I shouldn’t. I’m so sorry.” Dick sniffled.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Bruce whispered, “Shh, it wasn’t your fault.”

Dick kept shaking his head and apologizing and Bruce kept insisting he wasn’t to blame.

Jason’s stomach clenched and the whirring thoughts in his mind stilled. Where –

“ _Where is Damian?_ ”

 


End file.
